


Feeling My Way Through the Darkness

by Magykal777



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Apocalypse, Ben is alive, Elemental-like Powers, Everyone loves Vanya, F/M, Kissing, M/M, No Incest, No Smut, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Some Luther Bashing, Sort of second gen, Time Travel, after season 2, five is a little shit, people with powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2020-11-01 22:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magykal777/pseuds/Magykal777
Summary: Due to unknown circumstances of the time anomaly caused by certain members of the Umbrella Academy in stopping the apocalypse, there was a ripple in the continuum that caused an unaccounted-for effect to happen.At midnight on January 1st, 2004, seven women gave birth unexpectedly; and the strangest thing of all was that none of them had been pregnant in the first place.This time, though, there was no Umbrella Academy to mark these children's birth to the world. Many of them lived quiet-albeit unusual- lives in the homes of their biological families, who, by 2019 and the long-forgotten news of the Umbrella Academy, were mostly used to strange occurrences happening.Or,The wheel of time continues to turn and, according to The Commission, the Apocalypse is inevitable; it doesn't matter to them what brings it.





	1. In the Beginning...

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome!
> 
> Yes, I am starting a new FF while I have one yet to complete, but who doesn't do that? ;)
> 
> I've been thinking about this idea for awhile now and I wanted to write it down. There are a few things to establish first, though.
> 
> The timeline: everything is basically the same (except for Ben being alive), but this takes place after season 2, where I'm presuming the Umbrella Academy stops the apocalypse. The year is an alternate 2019 from the one the show has. Everything else will be explained later.
> 
> Ages: all the main characters (except Jared, one of my OCs), are 15 in body. Five spends less time in the apocalypse than he does in the show, and the OC isn't exactly a normal 15-year old (we don't stan pedophilia here.) Everyone else's minds are how old they are in the show (so 30.)
> 
> I think that's it, so I hope you enjoy! (If you want, let me know what you think in the comments.)
> 
> Warning: Birth (not too graphic, but it is there.)

**Feeling my way through the darkness **

**Guided by a beating heart **

**I can't tell where the journey will end **

**But I know where to start**

On this particular New Year’s Eve, Lola and Richard were celebrating at home with their four-year-old-son, Jared. While they considered themselves to be loving parents, they were often busy at work and travelled around a lot, which left little time for family bonding, so they took advantage of the holidays when they could.

Lola had blonde hair and blue eyes, which was mirrored in her son; she was a petite woman, but that didn’t detract from the power she could hold in a room. Richard had short, dirty-blonde hair and hazel eyes, and he was quieter and more easy-going than his wife.

They were currently celebrating New Year’s with Chinese takeout and watching old movies on the TV. The Christmas tree still stood in the corner of the living room, and colorful homemade streamers decorated the ceiling. The family of three sat on the couch in pajamas, with Jared being the slight exception; he was also still wearing his mother’s heels and had the sleeves of her bathrobe tied around his neck to make a cape from their earlier game of fashion-superheroes (while he thought superheroes were cool, he wouldn’t want to be one; he’d want to design their uniforms.)

As the clock counted down to the new year, nothing seemed out of place. By 11:45, they switched over the channel to watch the ball drop in New York, and surprisingly, Jared was still awake- a fact he was very proud of. And, fifteen minuets later, the countdown drew to a close:

“5!”

“4!”

“3!”

“2!”

“1!"

When the clock struck midnight, the people on the screen cheered as the ball dropped. Richard picked Jared up and swung him around the room in celebration, and Lola watched them amusedly. Suddenly, her expression dropped into one of horror and fear. Something wasn’t right. There wasn’t anything obviously wrong- until there was.

Afterwards, no one could say exactly what happened, but one moment, Lola was her usual slimness, and the next, she had ballooned out to nine weeks pregnant. Her father and son were startled by her scream and sudden change in appearance, but Richard was quick to react. He hastily shuffled Jared into the next room, ordering him to stay there. He grabbed the necessary items and rushed back to his wife’s side; having helped deliver his son, he knew the basic procedure for birth.

Her face was screwed up in pain and she was breathing heavily, “deep breaths, my love,” Richard said gently, stroking her hair. Despite the suddenness of the situation, he was able to remain calm, which had always been one of his gifts.

Lola tried to comply, but the pain was even greater than Jared’s birth, and she remembered that well. Surprisingly, however, the labor lasted only minutes, and soon there was a fourth member to the Quinn family.

Richard stared down at the baby girl who’d burst into life in the span of not even half an hour. Unlike Jared- and most babies-, she didn’t cry as she was born. Instead, she waved her tiny limbs around as she squirmed in his hands, opening vibrant blue eyes to take in the world around her.

“We have a baby girl, Lola,” Richard said, amazed. He knew he could immediately love their surprise child, no matter the unusual circumstances of her birth. He handed the baby to her mother who, despite her now-exhausted state, managed a small smile as she took her daughter in her arms. While she had every right to hate or fear the child by the surprise situation, having Jared first had helped ease the shock, and besides, they had the means to raise her.

Lola looked up at her husband, “we’re keeping her,” she said determinedly.

“Of course,” Richard said, surprised that his wife might think there was a different possibility.

"Will you get Jared? He should know everything's okay," Lola requested, and her husband went to find their son.

The blonde woman looked down at the baby girl, her expression soft, "everything's okay, baby. You should know that too. I don't know what happened, but we'll work through it. Supernatural things happen all the time in movies, after all. And you're special; I can feel it."

The baby's bright blue eyes blinked up at her as if to say yes, I know. Richard returned with Jared then, who was hiding behind his father's legs. After seeing that his mother was okay, he hesitantly moved to stand in front of her.

"You have a baby sister, Jer," Lola told him, "we haven't named her yet, but she'll be a wonderful part of our family."

He stared at the baby with wide eyes, "was she supposed to happen like that? Was that how I was born?" he asked, looking up at his mother, who looked faintly amused.

"No, you were very different," she answered, "none of us know quite what happened, but she's our little miracle. You're her big brother, Jared."

The four-year-old looked at the little child in his mother's arms and frowned. He was supposed to be the baby, not this strange creature. And besides, why did she stare so much? Those wide blue eyes were super creepy.

"I don't like her," he declared.

Richard laughed, much to Jared's irritation, "I'm afraid you'll have to get over that, son. I know this can't be easy, but she's our responsibility now. Go on, it's time for bed anyway. Your mother has to rest. Tomorrow, we'll get some new baby things."

* * *

Life settled into a new routine for the Quinns. The one good thing about the baby, Jared decided, was that it made his parents stay home more often; but even then, they were busy taking care of her. Jared tried to stay out of her room as much as possible to get away from those eyes. He really didn't like them. His mom had said that if her eyes were going to change color, they'd do so in a few days, since all babies were born with blue eyes. He didn't think that would help, to be honest. He wasn't able to put it in to words with his limited vocabulary, but the girl's eyes seemed to stare with a strange alertness that even his parents didn't have. And, if he looked too long, he could swear he saw something mysterious swirling in their depths.

When he tried to ask his mom and dad to "take her back" after explaining these very valid points, they merely laughed and said he had a great imagination. Eventually, they'd decided on a name: Elena Melany Quinn. He'd thought calling her "baby" was good enough, but apparently, that wouldn't do.

As Elena got older, she became very inquisitive, and was often found in some sort of mischief. In her quiet times, though, she loved it when people read books to her. One night, Elena and Jared were being watched by a sitter, who wasn't really paying attention to them. It was getting close to Elena's bedtime (Jared always made sure to make this distinction; he was older, after all, so he got to stay up later), and their caretaker was following the instructions their parents left. After getting his sister ready for bed, the babysitter placed her in the crib, turned off all lights but the lamp on the dresser, and left the door open a crack. There was only one thing missing; her bedtime story. Elena then did something she didn't often do- she began to cry. The sitter rolled her eyes and went to close the door, but Jared stopped her, "did you read a story?" he asked.

"No," the girl said with a slight question in her voice.

"Ellie always gets a story before bed," Jared explained importantly. While he wasn't fond of his sister, he never wanted her to cry.

She huffed, "well I'm not reading a story. She'll have to go without one tonight."

Jared knew that his sister wouldn't stop crying, so he said, "can I read her a story?"

The sitter looked at him with amusement, "I didn't know you could read."

"Of course I can!" he declared (in truth, he was just starting to, but she didn't need to know that.) He slipped past her into his sister's room, "don't worry, baby. I'm going to read you a story."

Almost like magic, Elena's cries stopped. Jared looked at her with wide eyes, "can you understand me?"

The baby's mouth opened and closed, as if she was trying to form words. Pulling herself up by the handlebar of the crib, she supported herself in a standing position to get a better look at him, but still didn't say anything; she just watched him with deep blue eyes. Jared sighed, he should've guessed she wasn't smart enough yet. He made his way to her bookshelf and picked out one of the thinnest books he could find before returning to the crib. As he struggled through the first page, Elena's baby mind was turning. She knew she knew this person, although she didn't think he liked her. She thought him name was easy though, she'd heard the taller people say it, and if she said it, would it make him like her more? Was it.... Germ? No. Jar? No. "Jer!" finally came out of her mouth.

The little boy looked up at the baby in surprise, stopping in the middle of the second page, "what?"

"Jer! Jer! Jer!" the baby turned it into a chant.

He couldn't believe it; his sister's first words were his name! Jared wished his parents were there to hear it. He couldn't help smiling, "yes, that's me," he said. Maybe his sister wasn't so bad after all.

"Jer!" came his name the final time, before, "bo?"

He nodded, "yes, book."

\----------------

When Lola and Richard found out about the new understanding Jared had for his sister, they were surprised until they learned what her first word was. They exchanged amused smiles.


	2. An Unusual Customer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next two chapters will be slightly shorter, but after that they should be a regular size again. I wanted to get the first (real) chapter up so I could give a better idea for the story, but after this, updates should be about once a week. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hurry up, Jer, we’re going to be late!” Elena called to her older brother. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” he huffed, “no one should be up at this godforsaken hour. I can’t even look good.”

Elena rolled her eyes, “no one’s up to see you, Jer. Stop complaining. The doughnuts aren’t going to make themselves.”

Jared grabbed the keys from the table in the entryway, running his free hand through is spiky hair as he did so, “you know, you could get yourself there and I could meet you so I could get my beauty sleep.”

The siblings left the townhouse and headed to the car, “you know I don’t like doing that. Only when I need to. And besides, where’s the fun in me working by myself?” 

Elena and Jared had inherited their great-aunt’s coffee shop, Griddy’s, after her confirmed disappearance a few months ago. They hadn’t been very close to Agnes even though they lived in the same city, but seeing as they were her only living relatives, they got the business. No one knew where the older woman had gone, just that one day she’d been at the cafe, and the next she never came back. 

So, now it was up to Elena and Jared to keep it going. Plus, it was a great way to make money. The only downside was that they had to work around school, as Jared was a freshman in college and Elena was a freshman in high school- that meant early mornings and late nights. 

Most people in their position would have their parents help them out, at least until the summer, but both Richard and Lola perished in a car crash a few years after Elena was born. They’d lived with their Aunt Agnes for a while, but recently, when Jared turned eighteen, he moved them into their parent’s townhouse using the inheritance money. Now, it was just the two of them and their business. 

The drive to work was nothing special, and the day started like any other. They’d only been open a week, but had been been able to fall into a pretty good routine. They both opened the cafe, then Jared took over until Elena was finished with school, and then she would close up, allowing him to attend night classes. While it didn’t leave much spare time, the work was enjoyable and it was a good bonding experience for them. 

* * *

When Elena arrived at work that afternoon, she wasn’t expecting her shift to have any surprises; she most certainly didn’t plan on it changing her life- not that she new it was happening at the time, of course. 

The door chimed to the cafe and a brunette girl entered, pulling a dark-haired boy with her. 

“C’mon Five, I promise this will be fun,” she was saying, “I’ve heard Griddy’s has new ownership, so I bet their coffee has improved!”

“I doubt it,” the dark-haired boy grumbled, “you know I can go home at any time, right?” 

The girl rolled her eyes slightly and led them to the counter, “hi,” she said, “is there a specific place we’re supposed to sit or just anywhere?”

Elena turned on her customer-service smile. She was usually a happy person, so this wasn’t too hard, she just added some extra charm for the people she was serving, “you can sit anywhere you’d like. I’m Elena and I can help you when you’re ready.” 

The brunette returned her smile, although it was more genuine, “we’ll sit right here,” she said, claiming the barstools, “I’ll have a jelly doughnut and he’ll have coffee. Black,” she added. 

The order was easy enough, “one moment!” Elena said, gathering the requested items, “so, what brings you here?” she asked, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you before.” 

The girl smiled, “we used to come here all the time but haven’t been able to for awhile. Now that there’s new ownership we wanted to try it out.” 

“Well I hope you approve of the service,” Elena said with a teasing smile, “it tends to be top-notch, not that I’m biased or anything.” The blonde slid the ordered goods toward the pair. 

The girl laughed but the boy next to her rolled his eyes, “we’ll see about that,” he said, taking the coffee. 

Elena watched as the boy’s eyes widened slightly, although the rest of his expression held irritation, “I suppose that means it’s good?” she asked. 

“It’s passable,” was his reply before he pulled out a newspaper- a _newspaper_, who read those anymore?- and disappeared behind it. 

“I’m sorry about him,” the girl said apologetically, “he’s always like that. I’m Vanya, by the way, and that’s Five.”

Elena was surprised- someone was named after a number? But she supposed with all the new names coming out, she shouldn’t be too shocked. “It’s nice to meet you,” she replied with a much more genuine smile, “you’re welcome anytime, although this is also a restaurant, so I suppose that would hold true anyway.” 

Vanya gave her an amused look, “well, the sentiment is appreciated.”

Elena returned to taking care of the other cafe customers, thinking about the strange boy and girl. She’d never seen them before, even in school, and they seemed to be about her age; maybe they went to private school. Both were very good-looking, she thought, although the boy called Five would be even more attractive if he actually a pleasant attitude. 

While she was cleaning tables on the left side of the restaurant, she glanced at the bar where she could see the the back of his head. If he wasn’t such a prick, she’d definitely be interested in him, she decided. 

When the pair left later, after Vanya bid her goodbye (Five didn’t so much as look at her), she didn’t really expect to see them again; what she didn’t know was how wrong she was. 


	3. Déjà vu, Sort of

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3! Next week's chapter is definitely longer :) 
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments from last time! Enjoy!

The next day, after she’d started her shift at Griddy’s, the bell chimed again at the same time it had yesterday. She looked up, and to her surprise, Five was making his way towards the bar. 

“Back so soon? Where’s Vanya?” she asked teasingly. 

He frowned, “this is the only passable coffee place close by. I’ll have the same order as yesterday.” He ignored her second question. 

After she turned around to pour the drink, she rolled her eyes. Was he really such a prick all the time? His life must be completely awful if he couldn’t even find _something_ to be happy about. Elena handed the drink to him, saying brightly (just to irritate him), “let me know if there’s anything else I can get for you.”

“That will be all,” was his curt reply before he picked up the mug and moved towards one of the booths, bringing out today’s copy of the newspaper. 

Elena turned her back on him again and picked up a dishcloth to start cleaning the dirtier tables. He was the only person in the cafe at this time of day, so it gave her a nice break to catch up on missed chores. 

During their brief renovation of the place (they had kept most of it the same and just updated the technology), Jared and Elena had installed main speakers so music could play throughout the cafe. Sure, the jukebox was cool, but they didn’t really want to insert a quarter into it every time they wanted music. So, now they kept a playlist of sixties-style music going to help with the atmosphere of the cafe. 

Elena was learning the songs by heart since they spent so many hours working there, and she had picked out a few of her favorites. So, while she wasn’t the best singer, she did enjoy trying to freestyle-karaoke her way through the tunes, as she did now. 

She kept her voice quiet, so as not to disturb her only (annoying) customer, _“I've got sunshine on a cloudy day, when it's cold outside I've got the month of May, well I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way?”_

“Would you cut that racket out?” Five’s voice sounded from behind the newspaper, “some people are trying to read, and besides, it sounds like a dying cat.”

Elena huffed. She hadn’t been singing _that_ loudly- and besides, she didn’t think she sounded that bad, either. Still, she dropped the words and continued to hum along with the music. 

“I can still hear you,” came the rebuke. 

The blonde girl stuck her tongue out at the newspaper. _Ha, _she thought smugly, _you didn’t see that, now did you?_

She turned back to her work, now only swaying to the music. After she finished with the tables, Elena got out the broom and dustpan to sweep the floor. As she did so, she used the broom as a microphone and mouthed the words to the song as she danced around, making her movements larger and more dramatic each time Five didn’t say anything. 

Eventually the song ended, and Elena went back to doing her regular work. Later, at four-thirty, as her evening customers came in, Five closed up his newspaper and stood up from the table. Without saying anything, he made his way to the door, but stopped when he got there. Placing his hand on the door to push it open, he turned back and met her eyes, “nice dance moves, by the way,” he said, with a smirk. With those parting words, he left the cafe. 

Even though she knew she would be embarrassed if he’d seen her, Elena still blushed at his words. _Why hadn’t he said something earlier?!_

“It’s Jared” in her brother’s voice cut through “I Got You Babe” that was currently playing over the speakers. Elena rolled her eyes at her brother’s ringtone and went to pick up the phone. 

“What’s up?” she asked. 

“You’re going to have to get home on your own tonight, sis,” he said, “I’m going to be done later than usual. I’m doing some extra studying.”

Elena sighed, “you know I hate that.”

“Yeah, well, to bad.”

“Did you at least leave a light on inside the house? Don’t forget what happened the last time.” 

“Of course I left a light on. Don’t forget to close up; I probably won’t be back until late,” Jared said. 

“I know the routine,” she shot back, “see you later then.”

“Bye,” and he hung up. 

Later, Elena made sure to turn off the front lights and locked the doors, switching the sign to “closed.” The restaurant closed at 6, and that left a good two hours to get some baking done for tomorrow. At eight, Elena left the cafe for the night. 

She flicked on the lamp that stood oddly out-of-place in the kitchen, allowing long shadows to stretch across the floor. Taking a deep breath, the blonde stepped forward into the darkness and allowed the inky blackness to submerge around her. 


	4. Into the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to describe Elena's powers as best I could, but I think they'll become clearer once they're more in the story. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Elena didn't know when her power first appeared, but she supposed her first memory of it was when she was five years old. If it had happened before that, well, no one was able to tell her differently. 

_It had been almost a year and a half after their parent's car crash. Elena, with barely a memory of her mother and father, was largely unaffected. Jared on the other hand, had been quiet and unhappy and Elena didn't understand why. So, being the best little sister she could, she tried to cheer him up in every way she knew how, but none of it worked. _

_They were shopping with their Aunt Agnes for some new school clothes for Jared who would be going into fifth grade. Elena was darting in and out of the clothing racks, shouting "boo!" at different intervals. Eventually, Jared's childishness got the better of him and after permission from his Aunt, he went chasing after his sister to bring her back. When Elena looked over her shoulder to see her brother following her, she couldn't help the bright smile that appeared on her face. The little girl had been running around the store enough to know the aisles better than her bother, so she took a sharp left turn, pushed through a rack of women's dresses, and effectively lost him. _

_She slowed down her pace slightly only to find Jared up ahead with a smile on his face, "got you!" he exclaimed._

_With a playful squeal, she turned and ran back the way she came, wishing desperately for some sort of cover so that he could run past her. It was then that it happened. Up ahead, the bright ceiling lights of the department store seemed to intensify, and the clothing racks seemed to grow larger as their shadows lengthened. Elena didn't notice this change as unusual, though, and thought the darkness would be a great place to hide, so she ran right into it. _

_Almost at once, she simultaneously wished she could leave and stay. She hadn't noticed the feeling as she went through, but later she would identify the it as jumping into cold water that was as thick as oil. Elena knew that this new, dark world around her was different than what she called the Surface World, where Jared and the department store was. There were faint outlines of moving shapes and even quieter murmurs of people from- above? There was no floor or ceiling, just what seemed to be (as best as she could describe) a blob, like a drop of ink on paper. Where am I? she wondered as she turned around slowly. The inky blackness was almost continuously shifting and moving, which she found very disorienting. Oddly enough, though, she didn't feel afraid. She was confused, that was true, as well as amazed and, well, she felt like she was meant to be here. Elena stretched out her fingers to try and touch the dark walls around her, thinking they’d be cool as silk, but they kept just out of reach. She wanted to stay and explore, but some faint, niggling feeling at the back of her head told her she shouldn't, that there were people outside waiting for her. _How do I get out?_ she thought. _

_Just then, a pin prick of light appeared at what seemed to be the end of a very long tunnel. Clear as if he was standing right next to her, Elena could hear her brother's voice calling for her, "Elena! El! Where are you!?"_

_She sighed regretfully, but promised the darkness aloud, "I'll come back," before leaving the- _her_\- world. _

_As she came out on the surface again, Elena blinked rapidly at the bright light. It was funny; her eyes had adjusted in no time at all to the shadows, but she wasn't accustomed to the world she lived in. _

_"Where did you go?" Jared asked, sounding both annoyed and relieved. _

_Elena knew her brother would trust her if she told him, but she thought it might be better if it wasn't around Aunt Agnes, "I was hiding," she said, "how long was I gone?" _

_"Twenty minutes!" Jared complained, "and I'm starving! Aunt Agnes said we could have doughnuts at Griddy's before we go home." _

Twenty minutes?_ Elena thought, it only felt like five! _

_She gave her brother a bright smile at the mention of doughnuts, but her mind was still on the strange world she'd discovered. As the the three of them left the department store, Elena turned to look back over her shoulder at the sea of clothing racks, "we'll be able to come back, right?" she asked._

_Her Aunt gave her an amused smile, "I didn't think you enjoyed shopping _that_ much!" _

* * *

The cold, oily, familiar feeling surrounded her as the world became dark and shadowy. As she stepped deeper, the feeling gave way to a strange sense of warmth. Around her, the darkness shifted and moved and murmurs from above could be heard. 

Elena called her power shadowalking, and it was a strange power. It wasn’t flashy like pyrokinesis, or mainstream like hydrokenisis. Her power was soft and silent and, Elena knew, could be deadly if she tried (not that the others weren’t, of course.) Aunt Agnes had never found out about her power, but as she got older, she and Jared were able to make sense of it once she told him what happened in the department store. To her relief, he was mostly just excited for her- instead of afraid of her- and did the best he could in helping her train her ability. 

For a four and six year old, that wasn’t easy and came with a lot of trial and error, but as she got older, Elena was able to figure out the basics of what she could do and never tried to push past that. She wasn’t the superhero sort, after all. She wasn’t brave or strong, and didn’t have genius-level intellect. She was just a normal person with weird powers, and so Elena did the best she could to use them at a minimum. 

Luckily, the trip from Griddy’s to their townhouse wasn’t far, and she knew the way well enough not to get disoriented by her surroundings. That was always the danger; the shifting mass of blackness could be worse than a maze, and with the voices from the people passing over shadows filtering through, it was very easy to get lost and loose track of time if one wasn’t careful. That was another thing; time was funny in this world, what felt like ten minutes in the shadow world could be thirty or more above. The best thing to do was keep the destination fixed solidly in her mind and hope for the best, as that usually worked. 

Moving through the shifting mass felt like walking under water. It seemed timeless and ancient all at once, with no clear path on where to go. Elena could feel the gentle tugs of other shadows pulling her away from her direction, almost pleading with her to explore them, but as always, she ignored the urge and headed on. 

Going in was easy; all you had to do was find a shadow- it was getting out that was the hardest part. The best Elena could describe it was a sense of familiarity. She knew the shape of the shadows in their house, she’d seen them from above and knew where they were located, what size they were, and what they looked like. Finding their lamp wasn’t too hard, especially since it was the only light on in the house. 

There was no guide for the outline of the shape in the shadow world, just lighter patches where the objects’ shadows were in the above world. Elena knew the spot, though, and stepped into it, her material body almost seeming to phase back into being, as if she’d just been a shade of her true self below. 

Moving away from the lamp, she went to the wall to turn on the main lights. It took her a moment to adjust to the brightness of the room, but when she did, she was very glad Jared had remembered the lamp; it was pouring out. 

The last time he’d forgotten, Elena’d had to find a street lamp shadow, which had been a shot in the dark to find the right one, and had appeared right in the middle of the sidewalk. She’d been lucky that it had been dark out and late enough that no one had cared. 

Looking at the clock, she saw that it was nine, which was actually a rather long time for her shadowalking, especially between two places she knew. Shrugging, Elena busied herself with making dinner and started on her homework. 

Because of their long days, the Quinn siblings rarely had time to do homework during the normal hours, so Elena often did hers during slow times at the cafe or at night, and Jared did his whenever he had the chance.

Elena’s best subjects were the creative ones, English, art, and she even considered history in that category. By now, though, she’d figured out that she didn’t have a brain for math (unlike her brother), and often struggled with it, especially the more complex problems. 

So, after completing her homework and pushing through her remaining math problems, it was past eleven and Elena went to bed, only to get up at four to prepare baked goods in the cafe for the next day.


	5. A Short Passage of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elena gives surprisingly good advice that is strangely well-received

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been awhile- October got super busy for me but I finally have time to post! 
> 
> Just a note that Elena's thoughts about Five that happen later on in the chapter are just based off of the very little she knows about him (of course, we all know differently); I just wanted make sure that was clear :)
> 
> Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Over the next few weeks, Elena and Jared fell into a comfortable routine. It wasn’t much different from their previous one, except that Jared tended to stay at the library later, and Five came to the cafe at exactly the same time everyday. 

His behavior bemused Elena; he didn’t seem to like anything about the place much, yet he kept coming back, and he usually came alone; Vanya was rarely with him. They usually traded a few snappy remarks, as Five would find something to complain about and Elena would respond, but after he got out his newspaper, they usually went back to their own business. 

She’d complain often of his persistent annoyance to her brother, who’d usually just smirk at her and tease her about having a crush (“no one talks about someone they don’t really know that well unless they like them!”), to which she’d called this reasoning outlandish and crazy. It did seem odd to her, though, that Jared hadn’t even  _ met  _ Five yet. The boy had been such a constant part of her life (not that she’d ever admit to looking  _ forward _ to his visit), that it seemed strange that they’d never interacted before. 

Elena wondered what Five would think of him (not that she cared, though.) Jared was rather... different, she supposed was the best way to put it. He put a lot of emphasis on fashion and always dressed well. Five would like that, she decided. He was often wearing a uniform of some sort. But apart from that, Jared had a personality much like hers or, she thought, perhaps she had a personality much like _his_; after all, Jared was the one who raised her, and he was bound to rub off on her in some way. 

In any case, they were relatively happy people who didn’t complain much, and that was about as far from Five as they could get. Elena supposed a spoiled rich kid who was used to getting everything his way would have a lot to complain about if it wasn’t up to his standards. But, for normal, hard working people, Elena and Jared were happy with what they got. 

Forcing herself to stop thinking of the most annoying person on the planet, Elena looked at the clock and rolled her eyes. _Great, _she thought, _time to make coffee for Mr. Everything’s-Horrible-Except-For-Me_. After putting on a fresh pot, she went to his normal booth and made sure to wipe it down carefully, _this isn’t because I _want_ to impress him; definitely not. I just want him to have one less thing to complain about. _

Once the coffee was done, she looked at the clock. _Exactly three,_ and, sure enough, the bell seemed to give an extra-arrogant chime just for the boy who walked through the door. 

Elena poured some of the fresh pot of coffee into a mug and like clockwork, slid it across the counter as Five approached the bar. 

"It seems you were expecting me," he said with a slight smirk.

The blonde rolled her eyes, comfortable enough to drop her customer-service persona, "only because you come at the same time every day, old man." 

He looked startled, "old man?" 

"Well yeah," she said, slightly confused, "because you have habits like one. Coming at the same time every day, reading a newspaper, getting the same order." 

"Oh," was all he said, before moving away.

_ Did I really just have a normal conversation with him?  _ Elena thought, surprised,  _ he must have a fever or something.  _ Only of course, he had to go ruin what was a perfectly good moment. Five paused at the table he normally sat at, noting its cleanliness before moving to the booth behind it and sitting down. He made a show of wrinkling his nose, calling out to her, "the table's dirty!" 

Elena bit her tongue, knowing it wouldn't do to snap at a customer, no matter how annoying he was. She went to his table and carefully wiped a cloth over it; paying special attention so as to not drop any crumbs into his lap- she'd never hear the end of  _ that _ . The table wasn't even that dirty anyway; he just liked to pick unnecessary fights. 

Once she was done, she turned away to go back to her work, not deigning to give him a parting comment, but let out a surprised gasp when she saw who was behind the counter, "Jared!?" she exclaimed.

"Hey El," her brother responded rather sheepishly. 

"Don't you 'hey El' me," she said with a hint of startled anger in her voice, "you nearly gave me a heart attack! " 

"Sorry," Jared said in a voice that implied otherwise, "my class got cancelled so I can stay later to help out."

Elena relaxed then, glad that nothing terrible had caused him to be at the cafe at an abnormal time, "well, I suppose I'm glad you're here." 

He grinned at her, "just suppose?" 

Rolling her eyes, she moved to get closer to her brother in order to swat him with her dishrag, but cool fingers wrapped around her wrist, startling her. Elena turned around only to see Five had reached out to stop her from walking away. Frowning in confusion at the odd look on his face, she looked at him questioningly, "what?" 

His voice was oddly quiet as he asked, "who is that?" 

“Jared,” she said by way of answer. 

“Who  _ is  _ he?” Five asked again, and realization hit her. 

With a slight smirk (she tried not to feel too pleased), Elena answered, “my brother. Are  _ jealous _ ?”

He didn’t reply right away but his posture relaxed slightly. Then, “do you want to go out?” He seemed as surprised as she was by the question. 

“Out?” Elena asked, confused.  _ He can’t possibly mean- _

“Together,” he confirmed, “not here,” he waved his free hand around to indicate the cafe- the other still held on to her wrist; she didn’t think he realized. 

_ -he did!  _ It took her a moment for what he was asking to sink in, “Oh! Well, um, I... I suppose so.”

Elena only hesitated because she didn’t know him  _ that  _ well, “how do I know you’re not going to murder me in an alley or something?” she asked, only slightly joking. 

Five smirked, “if I wanted to murder you, I would’ve done so already.”

She didn’t know what to say to that (and something told her he wasn’t kidding), so she asked, “when do you... uh, want to go?”

“Your brother’s running the restaurant isn’t he? We could go now.” Five didn’t even know why he’d asked her in the first place; it was completely out of character for him. But, for some reason, he had, and surprisingly he wasn’t too adverse to the idea. 

“Okay,” Elena replied, drawing the word out slightly. 

She raised her voice and directed it towards her brother, “Jer?” once she had his attention, she continued, “since you’re here I’m taking off for a bit. Um, I have... other obligations?” her voice raised in question at the end; Elena wasn’t sure what to call her outing with Five. It certainly wasn’t a  _ date _ , and if she called it that she’d never hear the end of it, but it also wasn’t a meeting or something like that. 

Her brother seemed to know what she was implying anyway, and gave her the most amused look which informed her that she’d never hear the end of this regardless, “have fun on your _date_,” he sang. 

Elena blushed and glared at him, “let’s go,” she said to Five. 


	6. A Rainy Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing beats a hot drink...or guy... on a rainy day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the wrong summary... oops. (It's fixed now-sorry!)

The next day turned out to be a dreary, rainy Wednesday that seemed to draw customers into the cafe at unusual times. There were two college girls sitting in a booth towards the front, both typing away on computers and drinking lattes. An older woman had just left at well, having taken her nearly milk-white coffee to go, heading back to what was presumably work. 

As Elena poured the fresh pot into a mug for Five, the said boy entered the cafe, closing up a black umbrella as he did so and shaking water droplets all over the floor. If he'd been someone she'd known, the blonde would've protested at having to do extra cleaning, but as it was, she suffered the extra work silently. Greeting the boy with a smile, she pushed the mug closer to him. 

Five returned the gesture with a grimace and took the the drink, causing Elena to frown slightly, "what's wrong?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't snap at her for being nosy- yesterday's surprisingly pleasant conversation was still in her head. 

"I tried what you said," he answered, taking a sip.

Elena gave him a curious look, "and?" 

"And I fucked up," was the reply. Five seemed to contemplate something before adding, "I'm not really good at talking to people."

The blonde playfully rolled her eyes, "that's not really a surprise." 

The boy glared at her across the rim of his mug, but Elena shrugged; what she said _was _true. He sighed, "everyone thinks I'm an asshole"- here, Elena gave him a look- "I _am _an asshole," he corrected himself, "but I don't really know how to talk to people anymore." 

Elena's expression turned sympathetic until she remembered what he'd said about that yesterday. She quickly made herself look interested instead, "why not?"

"Remember how I went overseas?" she nodded, "well, while I was over there, I was alone for more than three years. I didn't even see anyone the whole time- I was entirely self-sufficient."

Elena stared at him with wide blue eyes, _who goes overseas and doesn't go sightseeing? _was her first thought, but was followed up with, _no wonder why he doesn't know how to talk to people_.

"I can't even imagine," she said truthfully. She tried to picture it, being in another country by herself, without her brother, never talking to anyone for years. The blonde shook her head to clear it; the thought brought an uncomfortable ache of loneliness that she always tried to avoid. 

Five's expression actually turned softer, his gaze flicking back to the dark contents of his mug. If he'd been anyone else, Elena would've hugged him then, but the most she could do was sit quietly with him until he was ready to talk again. 

Finally, he did break the silence, "you remind me a lot of her, you know." 

Elena gave him a confused look, "who?"

A bittersweet expression crossed over his face, "Delores. Your face is a bit like hers, I suppose, except with more emotion." 

The blonde studied him for a moment, the idea of Five being with another... person, she guessed, sitting oddly uncomfortably in her chest, "what do you mean, more emotion?" she finally asked. 

His expression was surprisingly _old _as he sighed, "since I was alone for a long time, Delores became my... support. I know she wasn't _real_, but she acted as something that I could talk to."

Elena gave him a puzzled expression, "who- what- was Delores?" 

"A mannequin," was the flat response.

If this had been another situation, Elena would've started laughing at the ridiculousness of it, but Five would never make something like this up, and besides, he seemed to believe it too much for it to be anything other than real.

"Oh," was her only response, because what could you really say to that?

Five studied her face, with her wide blue eyes, blonde hair pulled back for food service, the soft, round curves of her face, the small smile that pulled at her lips. _Maybe it wasn't the face,_ he thought, _but something about the eyes. _Delores's eyes had been plastic, of course, but Elena's deep blue eyes seemed to have something darker in them besides the surface emotions which seemed to pull him in. Shaking his head to clear the nonsense thoughts from his mind, he glanced at the clock on the wall, his eyes widening, "I've got to go," he exclaimed, quickly downing the rest of his coffee mug. He grabbed his umbrella and headed towards the door. 

There was a sudden, strange surge of panic that welled up in Elena's chest, a feeling that she had to say _something_, "Five!" she called.

The boy turned, his umbrella half open. Thinking about their recent decent conversations, she asked, almost in an embarrassed sort of way, "you're coming back, right?" 

His expression turns surprised, as if he hadn't expected her to _want _him to come back, "of course. You aren't going anywhere, right?" 

Elena grinned then, spreading her arms to gesture at the shop, "don't you think I'd be somewhere else if I was?"

Surprisingly, he lets out a strange, hoarse sound that Elena realizes belatedly is his _laugh_ as he opened the door and stepped into the pouring rain. The blonde felt her face warm at the thought that maybe he should laugh more, because she actually liked the sound, and quickly turned to busy herself with cleaning up the puddles on the floor. 

She's interrupted from her work by the loud, giggling laughter of a group of three girls she distinctly recognizes from her high school. The blonde let out an inaudible groan; she always hated serving her peer group. Putting on a bright, completely fake smile, she waited until they were completely inside the shop, "welcome to Griddy's!" she said brightly, "what can I get for you?" 

Elena moved towards the safety as the bar as the three girls- Lucy, Susan and Amy- crowded towards the cash register. They were all from her class, although they were more popular and boy-crazy than she was. Susan, the dark-haired one and easily the prettiest, had a bright smile on her face, "hey- do you know who it was that just left the shop? He was so _cute_!" 

Lucy and Amy squealed at this, and Amy, the blonde, said breathlessly, "he _definitely _looked at me!" 

Elena sighed, the tight feeling in her chest returning. There was no way Five would give these girls the time of day, would he? After all, they were definitely the mindless drivel type. 

Susan was still looking at her expectantly and Elena wondered what to say. She certainly couldn't deny that she knew him; he'd just left the cafe. On the other hand, Five wasn't exactly an everyday name, but if she made one up, the girls might find out and think something was up. Finally she sighed, knowing she was making it be more difficult than it had to, "his name is Five."

All three of them looked confused, "Five?" Lucy asked, "like the number?" She was the nicest of the three girls, with short brown hair and friendly brown eyes.

Elena gave them a nod, "can I get you anything?" she asked again, pointedly.

Susan had turned towards her friends though, "Five's an unusual name, but it's so exotic! I mean, how many people are named after a number?"

An idea lit up her face and she turned back to Elena, "do you have his phone number or anything?" she asked excitedly, "like when you do take out?" 

Elena stiffened and her voice was cold as she answered, "even if I did have his contact information, that would be strictly confidential. Now, is there anything I can get for you?" 

Luckily, the girls finally seemed to understand her tone and quickly ordered to-go drinks. Once they left, Elena sighed, knowing she shouldn't have lost her temper like that. After all, she'd see them in school tomorrow and things might get awkward. On the other hand they never really spoke, so there was probably nothing to worry about. Glancing at the clock, Elena felt like banging her head against the bar. There were still hours to go before she could close up and the day had already proved to be trying. 

Taking a deep breath, the blonde headed to the back for a minute to get her sketchbook before reappearing at the front. Leaning comfortably against the table, she placed the pad before her and let her mind drift as her pencil curved across the page. She was occasionally interrupted by customers, but hours later, her mostly-complete drawing revealed a teenage boy with a sharp jawline, floppy dark hair and a faint smile tugging at his lips. 


	7. A Lack of Sleep all Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elena becomes a therapist and Five becomes a tutor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should go without saying, but feel free to let me know how I'm doing! I do love reading comments :)

By Friday of the next week, Elena was completely drained. It wasn't because of work- surprisingly, she and Five had been having civil and interesting conversations each day- but she'd had a Biology and Math test on the same day and she'd stayed up late multiple nights in a row to study for her most difficult subjects. 

So, by the time she returned to the cafe Friday afternoon, Elena was nearly falling asleep on her feet. Going against her personal rules, she made herself a whole pot of coffee and with lots of milk and sugar, took to downing the whole thing to stay awake. Normally, she hated the drink- hence the add ins- but she knew she wouldn't make it through her shift if she didn't. The blonde had even brought the mug out front, hiding it under the lip of the bar top to take hidden sips when there weren't any customers in the store. 

As three o'clock approached, Elena sluggishly (since the caffeine still seemed to be setting into her system) made fresh coffee for her most frequent customer. The bell chimed as it always did and Elena turned to greet the boy, surprised that he looked just as tired at she felt. 

"What's up with you?" she asked as she gave him his usual drink. She'd gotten much less formal the more comfortable she became around him. 

Five sighed, "I stayed up all night doing equations and forgot to sleep." 

Almost fondly, Elena thought, _what a nerd_.

He added, "and the night before that, too," he downed the coffee before she could even blink and she quickly refilled his mug. After one more, he finally focuses on her and he seems to notice she's different as well, "what's up with you?"

Elena jumped guiltily, since she always tried to not let customers see her problems, "nothing," she said quickly.

Five gave her an unimpressed look, "right," he said, his tone entirely unconvinced. 

She sighed, "my teachers are trying to kill me. They scheduled both a Math and Biology test on the same day, so I stayed up late studying."

Five stared at her, slightly surprised. He always forgot that she was in school. He never saw her anywhere but the cafe and she always acted older than a fifteen-year-old, so he usually forgot she was, well, normal. Having never been to real school, he didn't really understand the situation, but he shrugged, "I could help you with the math part." 

It was Elena's turn to look surprised, "you don't seem to be the tutor type." 

"I'm not," Five admitted, "but you don't seem like the therapist type either." 

The blonde grinned, "touche. I'm willing if you are." 

Some of his irritability returned, "I already said I was, didn't I?" 

Elena rolled her eyes, "no need to get snippy," she refilled his mug again and set the pot back on the warmer. 

Picking up her own, she took a sip, noticing his eyes follow the motion, "I drink coffee only when I need it," she explained with a faint smirk, "I'm not a die-hard like you." 

Five gave her a faintly amused look, "that's not coffee, though. That's milk and sugar with some caffeine." 

Elena shook her head, wrinkling her nose, "not everyone can drink it black."

They sat in a comfortable silence for some time. Elena was glad that their days of sharp barbs were mostly behind them; once he started being... well, not _nice_, but friendlier? no, that wasn't quite right either. Whatever it was, once he started being that way, Five was actually not so bad to be around. Remembering one of the questions she'd had since the first day, Elena glanced at the boy's outfit before asking, "so I've been meaning to ask- what's with the uniform? Do you go to private school or something?" 

Five shrugged, "or something," she thought that was all he was going to say about that, but he added, "my siblings and I are home schooled, but our caretakers think it's best if we wear uniforms." 

'Caretaker' was a funny way to describe parents but Elena let it slide. Instead, she nodded, "I guess it helps with focus or something- that's what all the teachers say anyway. I go to public school so I don't have to worry about that, but everything else about it sucks." 

It seemed like a pointless conversation to have, but Elena was too tired to think of anything more clever. All she really wanted to do was crash into her bed and fall asleep anyway. 

To her surprise, Five actually looked interested, "what's it like? Public school, I mean." 

The blonde shrugged, "nothing special. The kids there suck and don't really interact outside their groups. The teachers don't really care and the food's gross. I'd chose homeschooling over public school any day, but Jared's too busy to do that." 

"Jared?" he asked. 

"My brother," Elena explained, "he's in college, trying to get an undergrad degree in fashion and business. He works here in the mornings while I'm at school since he has to work around his schedule, so you haven't met him yet." 

The boy nodded and they fell into silence again. After awhile, he stood up to go and Elena cleaned up his spot. She thought he'd forgotten about his offer, but at the door, he turned back to her, "I'm serious about the math thing, you know." 

A small smile formed on her lips, "okay. I usually have to much to do during the week, but I'm free on weekends? Jared can look after the cafe by himself for awhile. I think," she added. 

Five nodded, "do you want to meet here? We can go to the library so you don't have to be distracted by my siblings." 

"Sounds good- I'll see you tomorrow, then?" 

"Is there any other time I come?" he asked almost jokingly.

Elena rolled her eyes as the boy left the cafe and she went back to her chores. 

\---

That night, Jared made it home at a decent hour thanks to it being the weekend. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the two sat at the kitchen table together eating frozen pizza because neither had felt like cooking. Her brother's bright blue eyes seemed to be studying her as she ate and Elena sent him a questioning look. 

Jared shrugged, "you seem happier, El." 

The girl couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips, "I suppose I am." 

"Is there any particular reason?" he asked teasingly, "perhaps an annoying _boy_?" 

She felt heat rise to her face and her brother gave her a smug look, "maybe he's not as annoying as I first thought," she admitted, "we've actually been pretty civil with each other."

He pretended to look surprised, "wow, who could've thought?" Jared asked sarcastically, "maybe I can meet this boy before I'm convinced he's imaginary?" 

Elena gave him an irritated look, "he's not _imaginary_, Jer. And besides, you can meet him tomorrow. I told him about my math woes and he offered to help. Apparently he's some sort of genius or something." 

Her brother's eyes lit up, "ooh- a date! Of course I can look after the cafe while you finally get a life!" 

Elena rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly, "shut up, it's not a date. He's just helping me out." 

Jared scoffed, "yeah right. I mean, you've got an activity and a location. All you need is the food, which Griddy's will happily provide." 

The blonde crossed her arms in annoyance, "it's _not _ a date. He's too stodgy to even think about something like that. Can we _please _change the subject?"

Her brother sighed, "_fine_. What else is there to talk about?" 

Elena smiled mischievously, "what about _your _life?" 

"What about it?" 

"You've been staying at the library _quite _often. Is there anything- any_one _that's of interest?"

Jared grinned, "you know me too well, sister dearest. There does happen to be a _someone_." 

"Ooh!" she said teasingly, "do tell, Jer." 

Her brother shrugged, suddenly uncertain, "I don't know. Sometimes it seems like there's something, and other times not."

Elena frowned sympathetically. For all the joking around they did, they did care about each other, "who is the girl of interest?" 

Blue eyes met hers across the table as if her brother was watching her expression, "_his _name is John." 

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, not having expected that. There had been some times where she'd thought it was true, but there were others where she'd been convinced differently. After the initial shock had passed though, her expression softened, "then John's a very lucky guy, Jer. Will I ever get to meet him?" 

Her brother gave her a relieved look which quickly disappeared from his face as the usual easiness returned, "depends on when I ask him out." 

Elena gave him a _'really_' look, "you tease me about _my _life, but you haven't made a move on the guy you've been mooning over for nearly two months?" 

Jared rolled his eyes, "how observant, El, because that's exactly what I'm doing. At least I have a plan." 

His sister made an unconvinced sound, clearly not impressed with his excuse, "well, by the time you finally get your act together, I may or may not be out of high school." 

Her brother shot her an faux-offended look, "I don't like what you're implying, sister." 

Elena smirked, "then get a move on, brother." 

Jared mirrored her expression, "I will if you do." 


	8. A Tale of Two Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya and Allison wish for a death threat and Elena makes a friendship bracelet.

The next afternoon, Elena glanced anxiously at the door as three o'clock rolled around. At 3:01, she couldn't help but feel worried as the boy who was rapidly growing on her didn't appear. _He's always on time_, she couldn't help but think. She knew he must have better things to do than come to the cafe everyday so she felt a little silly, but she'd gotten so used to his constant appearance that it was strange to differ from the norm. 

She let out a relieved breath as the bell to the cafe tinkled as the door opened, but instead of revealing a fifteen-year-old boy, two girls of the same age entered the shop, "hey Vanya," Elena greeted the long-haired brunette. Elena remembered what Five had said about Vanya being a writer and the blonde couldn't help but feel an increased respect as she welcomed the quiet girl. 

Vanya smiled slightly. She hadn't been to Griddy's in awhile, so it was good to see the friendly waitress again, "hello Elena," she responded. 

The kitchen door swung open to reveal an older boy with blonde, white-tipped hair and who was carrying a tray of freshly made doughnuts. No doubt he'd heard the bell as well and had come out to relentlessly tease her about the not-really date. Unfortunately for him, the sight of two girls greeted him instead. 

Jared sent them a toothy grin as he placed the tray on the table, "hello girls, what can I get you today?" 

Vanya looked surprised at the appearance of the newcomer having not met him yet. Elena made the proper introductions, "Jared, this is Five's sister, Vanya, Vanya, this is my brother Jared," the blonde turned to her friend's companion, "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." 

The girl with chocolate-brown skin returned her friendly smile, "I'm Allison, Five's other sister." 

Elena's expression brightened, "how lovely to meet you! I've been looking forward to meeting his other siblings," she said, genuinely happy. 

"I've been looking forward to meeting you as well," Allison informed her, "Vanya's mentioned you before so I thought I'd tag along today." 

Elena nodded at her reasoning. Trying to act casual, she asked, "so, no Five today? We were supposed to go to the library." 

Vanya looked guilty, as if it had been her fault that the boy wasn't there, "he's, um, sleeping. We sort of made him," she added.

Elena relaxed, "that's good. That boy needs his sleep." 

Both of his sisters looked amused at her statement for some unknown reason. Allison cleared her throat, "we're here to pick up some decaf for him. We were thinking it might help." 

Jared, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke in amusement, "it sounds as if he's going to kill you when he finds out- from what I've heard of him, anyway." 

Allison laughed, "yeah, probably. But it's his fault for not taking care of himself." 

Elena smiled, glad that at least someone was looking out for him. Turning pointedly to her brother, she asked, "Jer, can you make the decaf?" 

Her brother nodded and turned away as the bell rang again. This time, it was the same three girls from the other day. Lucy, Susan and Amy stood just out of the way of the door looking around the shop. Elena rolled her eyes and raised her voice knowing the reason for their appearance, "sorry ladies, but he isn't coming today." 

The group's attention turned on her and the blonde motioned to the other two girls in the shop, "apparently, he's getting some much-needed rest." 

Susan looked disappointed but luckily had enough sense not to press the issue. Instead, they moved toward the register and ordered drinks. After Elena finished preparing them, the three girls paid and left the cafe, seeing that they had no reason to be there. On the way out, though, Elena caught Lucy's glance back towards the two girls, _how curious_, she thought. 

At Vanya's and Allison's questioning looks, Elena rolled her eyes, "apparently Five has some admirers. They're from my school," she added reluctantly. 

Before they could answer, Jared returned with a decaf to go as well as three doughnuts, "on the house," he said, pushing the food towards them. 

Vanya thanked him before looking hesitantly towards the blonde waitress, "I probably shouldn't be saying this, but since he's likely not to say it himself, Five's grown fond of you." 

Elena flushed slightly, "you probably shouldn't be saying this," she agreed. 

Surprisingly, it was Allison who responded, "it needs to be said. Our brother's been through a lot- we all have- and it's good that he has a friend. He wouldn't volunteer to help just anyone, you know." 

Elena couldn't help the warmth that spread through her at the thought of _friend_. She hadn't really known where she stood with the boy, as prickly as he was. But if his sisters were saying that he could at least tolerate her, Elena would take that for all it was worth. She ignored her brother's smug look in her direction before he busied himself with the doughnuts he'd brought out and said awkwardly, "oh, well... uh, he's my friend too."

The dark-skinned girl smiled reassuringly at her discomfort, "we used to come here all the time when we were younger," she said, looking around the shop before turning to her sister, "maybe we should try to bring everyone here, for old time's sake?" 

Vanya shrugged, her voice quiet as she asked, "do you think they'd want to?" 

Allison frowned thoughtfully, "I think it would help us understand each other, you know? If we remember how it was like when we were kids but without Dad?" 

Elena watched the exchange, confused at their wording. _What did they mean, when we were younger? They're only fifteen... did they come here when they were six or something? And why would they forget what it as like when they were kids if it was only a few years ago? _

She was drawn from her thoughts by Allison placing the payment for coffee on the counter. The blonde shook her head, pushing the money back, "it's on the house, Allison. Think of it as a gift of my friendship if you want." 

The brunette smiled at her, "thanks Elena. I'll let Five know you said hi, yeah?"

The blonde nodded, adding, "and make sure he gets enough sleep. Math isn't _that _important." 

Both sisters gave her an amused look and said their goodbyes, leaving the shop to enter the brisk late-autumn air. 

\---

Five didn't show up on Sunday either and Elena figured he was still taking some much-needed rest. The three girls showed up again, but this time both Susan and Lucy left the cafe looking disappointed. Other than that, the day was rather uneventful and the blonde found herself missing the boy's company more than she would've liked to admit. 

That night, she picked up an activity that she hadn't done since she was little. In elementary school, she'd believed that friendship bracelets were some sort of magical token that made bonds unbreakable and had taken to making quite a few. Indeed, she'd actually made two very good friends _because _of them. Diana, her first friend, had moved to Texas and they'd lost contact over the years. Jane, her other friend, had been from a military family so they'd moved at the end of the school year before a strong friendship could really form. She no longer believed in the magic of the bracelet of course, yet she couldn't help but pick up the juvenile task with the thought of a certain boy in her mind. 


	9. The Plot Quickens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Five and Elena get closer and I try to make clever references

At nearly three o'clock on Monday, the cafe is usually packed with after-school students wanting to get something warm to drink before starting on their homework and this Monday was no different. With Jared at school, Elena was always hard-pressed to control the extra people that crowded into the shop and it only got worse as the weather got colder. The weather seemed to want her to have a difficult day as well, with the November temperatures dropping to below freezing. 

As she finally got to a more manageable stream the bell _dinged _again, this time her usual customer strode into the shop, stopping abruptly when he saw the amount of people currently in his way. Five had been to the cafe on a Monday before, but Elena supposed he'd never seen it this crowded. He almost seemed... uncomfortable. He quickly began moving again in an almost determined sort of way, as if he was forcing himself to take the necessary steps. His uneven gait was noticeable immediately, Elena saw as she paused in handing a customer their drink. 

As he drew closer, she noticed the nearly palpable nervous aura about him, and upon closer inspection, saw that he was shaking visibly. She quickly finished with the man she was currently serving before stepping away from the counter to get Five's usual order ready. She hastily slid the drink towards him, hoping that having a distraction would make him feel better. Elena had always seen him as cocky and confident and it was slightly off-putting to see him so out of his element. She supposed everyone had their weaknesses though, and she couldn't blame him for not liking noisy social settings. 

His gaze seemed unnaturally bright as it locked onto his mug. One of the customers at the cash register called for her attention but she ignored them, for at the same moment there was a loud _crash! _from somewhere in the cafe. In that instant, Five's hands flew up to cover his head, something that sounded suspiciously like a sob escaping from his lips and he slid down towards the floor. _Shit,_ Elena thought frantically, looking at the other impatient, staring customers. Her gaze fell on the three girls who'd picked up the bothersome habit, _well, it was as good as any. _

"Susan!" she called to the dark-haired girl. Getting her attention, Elena said rapidly, "I need you to take care of the shop for me. Don't touch anything- just make sure it doesn't get out of hand." 

She knew it was rather stupid, but Elena didn't care at this point. She was relieved when Susan nodded as she saw what was going on. For all of her airheadedness, the girl did seem to have some brain cells, which was a relief. Quickly exiting her side of the bar, Elena slowed her pace down to make sure Five knew she was approaching- she didn't want to startle him anymore. 

Once she got his attention, Elena carefully held up her hands so he could see them and forced her voice to be calm and clear, despite the rising unease she felt, "hey, Five, can you hear me?" 

Although his gaze was still unfocused, the boy nodded she continued, "I'm not going to touch you, but I need you to follow me to the back. Do you think you can do that?" 

He nodded again and after a moment, stood on shaky legs. Hoping that Susan would keep everything under control, Elena walked carefully to the back, glancing over her shoulder every so often to make sure the boy was still following her. The back room was small, with a ratty couch, an old, wooden coffee table with several stains on it, and a few plastic chairs scattered around. The walls were a dark, indiscernible color and a singular, bare light bulb hung from the ceiling. All in all, not the best place for recuperation, but Elena thought it would be better than the kitchen. 

When Five didn't move away from the door, Elena pointed to the couch, "sit," she said, feeling guilty for the command. 

He didn't protest and walked almost robotically to the sagging furniture, which dipped a bit more under his weight. Elena pulled one of the chairs over to the vicinity of where he was sitting, allowing a brief silence to fall between them as Five stared unseeingly at the dark wall in front of him. Elena had known it was important to get him out of the distressing situation, but aside from that, she really had no idea what to do. So, she decided to talk, since she did know that helped coma and unconscious patients sometimes. 

Thinking for a moment, she began to speak, "I mentioned before that my school sucks, right? Well, I may not have been entirely truthful. One of the teachers, Mr. Whitman, is an English teacher and he's the best there is. He even jokes about being related to Walt Whitman and how he's going to be the next great poet. No one believes him, of course, but he doesn't mind. 

"Not to be boastful or anything, but I think I'm his favorite. I'm the only one who tries in class, anyway. No one else seems to care about the English language anymore since there's so many shorthand words now," she shrugged, searching for something else to talk about. A small smile quirked on her lips, "it would be kind of fun if you and your siblings went to my school, though. I bet you could teach the class with how high the overall IQ is right now. That reminds me- I met your sister Allison on Saturday." 

At his sister's name, Five's gaze finally focused on her, "yeah, it was pretty interesting. From the little I know about her, she seems pretty nice." 

As she saw his expression focus, Elena carefully reached out to grasp one of his hands that was resting in his lap. He flinched even before they made contact and Elena pulled her hand away like she'd been burned, apologizing immediately, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," she knew he probably hadn't gotten much contact while he was overseas, being by himself for so long, and then suddenly it hit her, "that's what it was, wasn't it, in the store? Since you've been overseas for so long, the crowds must've been overwhelming, right? That must've-"

His voice cut through her apology like a knife, "shut up," at the sharpening of his glare, Elena felt as if some of her own balance was restored. 

Putting her hands up, Elena returned to the subject of school, "so, one reason why Mr. Whitman is the best professor is that he brought his talking parrot, Armadillo, to school one time," she could already feel the amusement as she remembered the class, "I know it's a strange name for a parrot, but what's funny was that whenever he asked a question, the parrot would answer and he'd accept it as correct, even if it was no where near the answer it was supposed to be," with a small laugh, she added, "he was the favorite student that day." 

She fell silent after that the room fell still until around four when Five finally managed to sit up fully and looked down into his lap instead of meeting her gaze. Elena hesitated a moment, not wanting to be snapped at again, but she pushed through and asked, "can I sit next to you?" 

Elena was relieved when he nodded and she switched places so that she was sitting a few inches away from the boy. Tentatively, so that he could see her action, Elena reached out her left hand towards his right and hovered above it. He didn't seem to understand what she was doing, so she carefully lowered her palm until it was touching his, keeping their hands pressed flat together. Strangely, their hands were nearly the same size, with hers being only slightly smaller.

She could feel staring at the back of her hand and she forced herself not to pull away. Her slightly bent posture caused some of her blonde hair to fall towards Five, so she removed her hand from his to brush it aside. She put her hand back in her lap since he hadn't seemed to particularly enjoy the contact. To her surprise, he- just as tentatively as she had- reached back over and joined their hands together. 

Elena sat quietly, not wanting him to startle and pull away. But then a sudden thought occurred to her and she said, "I'm Elena." 

She could feel his eyes on her, almost disbelieving, "yeah, no shit." 

The blonde cringed slightly, her outburst _did _seem stupid, "it's just that I realized I never actually introduced myself. I mean, my name's on the tag but there was never a proper introduction." 

She couldn't see him roll his eyes, but she could almost imagine it, "am I expected to introduce myself as well?" 

Elena sighed, "you don't have to." 

* * *

The next day was much quieter, thankfully, and Elena saw Five enter the cafe much more cautiously than he previously had. Yesterday, after she'd made sure he was okay, she'd taken the shop back from Susan who'd surprisingly been quite helpful in keeping everything in order. The dark-haired girl hadn't told Elena how she'd done it, but had refused the extra tip money that was made during the time when the blonde tried to hand it to her in thanks. 

By the time Five had made it to the usual place, his usual coffee was waiting for him, but he didn't even glance at it as his eyes darted around her, "listen, about Monday-"

"It's alright, Five," Elena interrupted. He'd briefly explained that the busy crowd had caught him off guard because he hadn't been expecting it.

_It was kind of nice to hear her say his name_, he thought suddenly. He hadn't realized that they'd never really addressed each other by their proper names before, so it made for a strange but not unwelcome change. He sat at his spot, his hand reaching for the mug when it brushed against something that was distinctly _not _ceramic. Five looked down in surprise to find a length of intricately braided blue string. Picking it up between his thumb and forefinger as if it were dirty, he asked, "what the hell is this?" 

It was Elena's turn to avoid his eyes as she said, "a friendship bracelet." 

"A what?" 

She couldn't hide the blush that rose to her face, "it's something a person can make for their... friends to... wear." 

His nose wrinkled slightly, "you know, I'm not really a jewelry person." 

Elena's face reddened, "you don't have to wear it," she covered quickly as she reached out to take it back.

He instantly drew his hand away, "no, I'm gonna wear it, back off." 

The blonde couldn't help the small smile form on her lips as she watched him easily tie the two sides together. Five wasn't the easiest person to get along with (which was the understatement of the century), so she appreciated the gesture even more than she let on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've had a few hiatuses-mostly because I was out of ideas- but hopefully I'm back now. The biggest problem is that while I know where I want to go with the story, I don't know how to get there (this chapter is one of the tipping points though, hint hint.) That being said, any feedback would be appreciated!) 
> 
> (Also, this is the longest chapter yet- yay!) 


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